


Something about friendship and a demon...or whatever

by just_a_simple_pigeon



Category: Hermitcraft, Hermitcraft RPF
Genre: Gen, Grian has wings, Hugs all around, I have no idea, according to that one episode of build swap he's a demon, and badtimeswithscar, and tiny tangotek, based off cavetown songs because i'm a sad lil bean sometimes, but according to the internet he's like...an animatronic?, ex is a soft boi who just needs a hug, helsknight will be a thing eventually, it goes...well enough, just because, like honestly, npc grian is also a soft boi who needs a hug, or a robot?, or something??, starts in season six and then goes to season seven, they go from not friends to best friends, well this might not go well but it's too late to turn back now, what even is npc grian, why did I write this, x is actually nice to ex, x tries to help ex make friends
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-13
Updated: 2021-02-24
Packaged: 2021-03-03 21:55:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 9,411
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24932629
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/just_a_simple_pigeon/pseuds/just_a_simple_pigeon
Summary: "You're in the way."Ex startles at the new voice, and when he turns around, he stops.It's Grian, but not quite. He's too small, for one thing, wearing a less-soft looking version of Grian's sweater, rolled up to his elbows but still managing to make him look tiny. His hair doesn't curl quite right and his eyes don't have that trademark spark of mischief-"You're in the way," he says again, patient, quiet, eager to please- and Ex pulls himself into the room and out of the way of the trapdoor."Sorry."
Comments: 29
Kudos: 148





	1. Lemon Boy

**Author's Note:**

> don't get me wrong, i love the angsty fics where npc is trapped in a closet and grian refuses to let him out and whatnot but i decided to do something else for this fic and basically what i came up with is grian lets npg do whatever he wants so long as he doesn't mess with the other hermit's builds because that's what i gathered from that one episode of build swap  
> npc sleeps in a closet just because  
> ex is a brat but also kind of sweet  
> i don't know exactly when this fic takes place but just know that the build off has already happened so hermitville is a _mess_  
>  grian has wings because he just does  
> x is pretty cool, y'all should watch his videos  
> and with that, enjoy! :)

While most of Grian's builds are impressive, Ex can't shake the feeling that _this one_ is borderline _dangerous._

"Is that a dragon?"

His voice seems to startle Xisuma- he looks back through the purple visor of his helmet and slows his steps to match Ex's pace.

"Well look who's feeling chatty today!" X's voice crackles through the ancient speakers in his helmet. Both look up while they walk- the dragon is really impressive- but he might like it more if it wasn't at the top of this mess of a tower, "Yeah, the build off got sort of...out of control."

"It's impressive."

X gives him an odd look, but agrees, "It really is."

They fall into silence after that, but still walk side by side, even as they make it to the door.

"Here's to hoping he's actually home," says Xisuma as he knocks, and Ex snorts a laugh.

They wait for a while, and Ex's helmet picks up on subtle movement from beyond the door- and then it opens, and there's Grian, half asleep with the sleeves of his sweater falling over his hands and his wings drooping behind him.

Flowers are draped _all over him,_ tangled in the curls of his hair and strung around his neck and embroidered into his headband- full hippy, this one. Apparently.

"Hey X," Grian yawns and rubs his eyes, "And Ex. What can I do for you?"

"Sorry to wake you," Xisuma says gently, "Is there a chance we could talk to NPC Grian right now?"

"NPG?" Grian blinks, long and slow, "Yeah sure, he's-" another yawn "-he's in here, come on in."

"Thank you."

Ex follows X inside, and ahead of them Grian stretches, wings extending fully and hands above his head. After a moment, he takes off, hovering by a staircase at the other side of a pile of shulker boxes.

"He's upstairs probably," Grian says, (does he realize how many petals he's leaving everywhere?), "Hope you're alright with climbing."

X nods and up they go, and watching Grian try to wake himself up is actually rather funny- he has to catch himself before he flies into the crooked walls.

"Sorry for waking you," Xisuma says, and Grian waves a hand as if waving his worries away, "What were you up to?"

"Pulled an all-nighter with Ren," He answers, "Something happened in one of the RVs and Impulse wasn't around to help us fix it."

Flower petals drift past them and disappear past the spiraling staircase as Grian continues, "In the end we managed to fix what broke, but then everything else started not working-" another yawn- "Luckily Impulse came around sunrise and said he'd fix everything."

"Yeah?" Xisuma asks, "How'd he react?"

"You know Impulse," Grian laughs then, quiet and tired, "He gave us this bewildered look like he had no idea how we managed to break everything _that badly-_ but he said he'd see what he could do."

Xisuma laughs and Grian comes to land ahead of them on the stairs.

Above them is an actual ceiling, Ex notices now, and they pause on the staircase as Grian reaches out to knock on a spruce trapdoor.

"NPC Grian!" he shouts, "Can we come in?"

Ex's helmet picks up on movement on the other side- then it stops.

And the trapdoor creaks open.

"Thank you," says Grian, and up he goes, into the room beyond.

X looks back at Ex and smiles, then turns and climbs up.

Then it's Ex's turn.

He steps up, but stops when his head is through.

Tiny papercraft bugs are _everywhere,_ stuck to the walls and hanging by strings from the ceiling, over the many potted plants that cover nearly the entire floor.

Sunlight streams in from the windows- there are _so many of them,_ all as tall as the walls themselves with spaces between with shelves for plants- they fill the entire room with a welcoming glow, and honestly if Ex was a cat he'd sleep in here every day.

"You're in the way."

Ex startles at the new voice, and when he turns around, he stops.

It's Grian, but not quite. He's too small, for one thing, wearing a less-soft looking version of Grian's sweater, rolled up to his elbows but still managing to make him look tiny. His hair doesn't curl quite right and his eyes don't have that trademark spark of mischief-

"You're in the way," he says again, patient, quiet, eager to please- and Ex pulls himself into the room and out of the way of the trapdoor.

"Sorry."

NPC Grian watches him. Ex looks him over- at his feet that don't touch the ground to the way his skin is just too perfectly even to be really human- until the real Grian speaks again.

"NPG, this is Xisuma and Evil Xisuma," he says, gesturing to each of them in turn, "They wanted to talk to you."

NPC Grian looks to X then.

He hasn't blinked once.

"Hello NPG," X says pleasantly, "This is my brother."

"Hey."

"A pleasure," NPC Grian nods to him.

"I thought he could keep you company up here," Xisuma continues, "Grian says you get lonely."

"Indeed," says NPC Grian, still looking at Ex, "I would very much enjoy the company."

For a moment, silence.

Then X's awkward cough and a cheerful, "Well, then I'll leave you to it!"

And then before Ex can protest, he and Grian disappear through the trapdoor, leaving him and NPG alone in the sun-dappled room, surrounded by paper bugs and potted plants.

Neither says anything for a long time. NPC Grian simply floats there, completely silent, for ages. Ex avoids looking at him, looking to the potted plants instead.

The pots are painted- most in bright colors. Blue, pink, yellow- then there's some purple, and scenes too. Bees and flowers on that one. A sunset on the next one. Midnight on a third, with the moon in a bright silver and splashes of stars over the rest.

"That one glows in the dark," says NPC Grian, and Ex jumps when NPG is suddenly _right there,_ "But only constellations and the moon."

"Oh," Ex answers dumbly, not sure what to do with this information, "Neat."

Silence again.

Then NPG turns to him, pinning him to the floor with those soulless eyes, "Would you like me to show you my other pots?"

Ex shrugs.

"Sure."

*****

"Up and at 'em!"

Ex groans, yanking his blankets up over his head and trying to ignore the sunlight streaming through his windows. (How X managed to get sunlight down here is beyond him, he lives _underground_ _)._

"I'm dropping you off at Grian's again today," Xisuma continues pleasantly, "So get dressed."

Ex groans again.

"Oh come on," X begins pulling at his blankets, "it wasn't so bad last time."

"He talked about plants for _three hours,"_ Ex protests, glaring as soon as he can see X's face.

Xisuma only laughs, and that's apparently the end of the conversation.

*****

Grian is much more awake this time, still scattering flowers everywhere and kind of smelling like he hasn't washed his sweater in a week, but he and Xisuma chat for a bit, and soon Ex is dumped back in the sunshine room, where NPG is drawing rustic houses in pink crayon.

"What kind of house do you prefer?" NPG asks after two hours of drawing in silence- (Ex was trying to draw a self portrait but he messed up somewhere along the way and now it just looks like an angry red blob).

"Dunno, never had one," He answers, flipping the page over and grabbing green and gray and purple, "You?"

He glances up, and is shocked when NPC Grian's eyes are actually a little bit _alive-_ it's just a spark, but for once it feels like he's talking to an actual person.

_"Rustic,"_ NPC Grian answers with stars in his eyes, "You are not a proper builder unless you have built a rustic house."

Ex hums thoughtfully and doesn't exactly listen as NPG proceeds to gush about rustic houses for four more hours, and when Xisuma finally comes to get him, he has two matching blobs- one a dark green, the other an angry red.

*****

"What are your favorite colors?" Ex asks out of the blue on his fifth visit, wondering if NPG will actually answer or if they'll end up in silence again.

NPC Grian freezes, and Ex gently takes the watering can out of his hands before he drowns the little poppy.

After a moment, "Red."

And then he resumes in his doings as if Ex hadn't asked at all.

The rest of the day continues like that. For three hours he asks basic questions as they tend to various flowers around the room, ("what's your favorite animal?" "chicken" "favorite mob?" "creeper" "favorite piece of armor?" "boots").

Not once does NPG ask him anything in return.

"Do you like Grian?" Ex asks eventually, moving an orchid to a different shelf where it'll get more sunlight, "Like, at all? He doesn't seem to care about you much."

NPG doesn't flinch at his words.

This answer takes much longer than the others, but in the end it's a simple, "Yes."

Ex hums, and NPG looks at him, his eyes alight with a question, and Ex waits for him to ask.

"Do you like Xisuma?" he asks in return.

Ex shrugs, "Sometimes. When he leaves me alone, or makes me a cake. He's a pain but also my brother, so I can't hate him too much."

NPG stares at him for a moment, then slowly nods and returns to watering a white tulip.

He looks like he wants to ask something else, but Ex doesn't push him to say anything.

Twenty minutes later Xisuma comes to take him home, and NPG doesn't ask him anything.

*****

They're sitting on the floor during his ninth visit- NPG is attempting to teach him how to make a papercraft dragonfly- when Ex finally breaks and asks a question he probably shouldn't.

"What _are_ you?"

NPC Grian stops his folding and looks up.

"Elaborate."

Ex puts down the glittery green origami paper, "I heard Grian telling X about you."

NPG says nothing.

"There was something about a satanic ritual, or...something?" Ex tries, but it's all rather confusing, "So what are you? Where did you come from?"

NPG watches him for a long moment.

"I am a demon," he says then, rather slowly, "I was summoned by Grian to be the ultimate house builder."

The answer is so straightforward it actually surprises him.

"You're a demon?"

"Yes."

"Oh."

That explains...a little bit.

"Is that the reason you can hover everywhere?"

"Yes."

"Do you have wings like Grian does?"

"Not in this form, no."

"Does that mean you can shapeshift?"

"I posses limited shapeshifting abilities, yes."

"Use them."

It's NPG's turn to look surprised.

"What?"

"Use them," Ex repeats, "It feels weird talking to a copy of Grian."

NPG stares, but after a moment, his skin ripples over, the sweater disappears, and he's _different._

When he opens his eyes again, they're even deeper and darker than before, this time with pupils the color of blood. He looks like a zombie pigman, or something- something very netherish. Wings like a phantom's come sliding out the back of what used to be his sweater, and horns curl out from above his ears. He's demonic, terrifying, but also really cool looking and Ex wishes he could shapeshift now.

"This is my true form," He hisses, voice sounding like several people are talking at once, and it's startling to say the least, "Is this better?"

"No," Ex answers, "But it's a start."

He reaches out to pat him on the head, wondering what NPG's skin feels like without gloves, "Keep your pupils, they make you look alive, but shift back into Grian."

NPG obliges, and soon he's back to being a carbon copy of Grian, only this time with dark red pupils.

"Alright cool. Bring the wings back, but make 'em small."

Tiny wings sprout out the back of the now-returned sweater.

"Horns too. Think small."

His horns return, barely longer than his ears, curling back instead of out.

"Cool, cool..." Ex looks him over, "Do you want to make any changes to your appearance?"

NPG looks thoughtful.

Then come more suble changes- a dusting of freckles over his face and a slight darkening of his hair- his sclera change from black to white.

He still looks very much like Grian, but now different enough for Ex to feel like he isn't talking to a double.

"Much better," Ex nods, pleased at the changes, "Do you like it? You can change back if you want."

"This is good," says NPG, fiddling with the sleeves of his sweater until they come loose and tumble over his hands, "I have...have always just-"

He trails off, looking somewhat embarrassed, but Ex nudges him with his elbow and that gets him talking.

"Grian wanted me to be like him," He confesses, "And I did not mind, but it is just- I have been in that form for _so long-"_

He trails off again, and when he looks up- his eyes really are more alive like this- he's trying to will Ex to understand.

And he does.

"Feels nice to be your own person, huh?"

NPC Grian nods.

"I feel ya," he reaches out to pat NPG on the head, "I did something like that too, after I kept getting mistaken for Xisuma."

NPG simply looks at him, eyes pleading for a story. Goodness, all those sideways glances. He remembers the day he spent asking NPG questions- he'd always looked at Ex after he answered- was he asking for him to answer his own questions, and Ex just didn't know how to read his soulless eyes?

"We looked almost the same when we were younger," Ex explains, "Except that my hair was white while his was dark. With our helmets on, and our matching armor, nobody could tell us apart, and because X was the 'more likeable' one, everybody thought I was him."

"What did you do?"

"Got new armor," Ex answers, "Bright red- my favorite color-" he looks pointedly down at NPG's sweater "-and grew my hair out."

NPG's eyes flick to his helmet.

"Can I...see?"

Ex reaches up, and as he's taking it off, his hair tumbles onto his shoulders.

NPC Grian stares.

That startles a laugh out of Ex, "What?"

NPC Grian reaches out to run his fingers through it, and Ex holds as still as he can while he does.

"I like it," says NPG.

Ex feels his face warming.

"Thanks."

They fall into silence after that, and NPG pets his hair a little longer before they return to their papercraft bugs. For a while Ex opens up a little and talks about himself, answering all the questions he'd asked NPG the other day, and when Xisuma comes around to pick him up, he- surprisingly- doesn't want to leave.

"You will visit again tomorrow?" says NPC Grian, hovering over Ex as he climbs through the trapdoor, helmet once again securely on his head.

"Yeah, I can come back tomorrow," Ex agrees, "You can teach me how to make an endermite, and then I'll fill X's closet with 'em."

Then NPG _laughs,_ and Ex is startled into looking at him. It's short and sweet and over in a moment, and NPG smiles at him, and Ex's face grows warm.

"Goodbye."

Ex nods and ducks through the trapdoor.

*****

"Good day today?" Xisuma asks as they walk down Sahara Street, ready to head back to the base.

Ex puts his hands in his pockets, glancing up at the high room with too many windows, and sees NPC Grian waving at him.

"Yeah," he lifts a hand to wave back, "It was good."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> not edited, not beta read, no plans for the later chapters except vague ideas, but here we go! i have no idea when i'll start next chapter but stay tuned for more!
> 
> come hang out on [tumblr](https://just-a-simple-pigeon.tumblr.com/) if u want :)


	2. Endermites

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Is Xisuma afraid of endermites?”  
> “Well, no, he isn’t really afraid of anything.”  
> “Then why go through the trouble?”  
> “I wanna startle him a bit, ya know? He isn’t afraid of me taking over the server anymore so I gotta find some other way to make him jump.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> we're going to ignore the fact that i literally have no idea what x's season six base looks like it's my au i can do whatever i want

When X and Ex come to visit hermitville again, there's a note tacked onto Grian's door.

_Hey X and Ex! NPG is upstairs, close the door behind you._

_Thanks!_

_-G_

"I guess this is where we part ways," X says, "I'll be back this afternoon."

"K."

"Don't do anything stupid."

"I won't."

X starts off down the street and calls over his shoulder, "If I hear from any of the other Hermits that you're trying to destroy the server again, you're grounded for a month!"

"What are you, my dad?" Ex shouts back, but waves back at his brother, who pulls out a stack of rockets and flies off towards the nether portal.

And then Ex is alone.

His helmet picks up on movement behind the door, and he turns to knock, only to have the door swing open before he can.

There stands NPG, back to looking like Grian- but when they lock eyes, he brightens, and in a moment shifts back into his half demon form.

"Ex! Hello!" He greets, eyes shining and stepping aside to let him in.

"Hey."

"Xisuma is not with you."

"Nope," Ex steps past him, "He's got stuff to do, but he says hi."

"Hello to him too," NPG nods, hovering by Ex. Together they go up the many stairs to the sunshine room.

The morning light makes the flowers look like they're glowing, and as Ex climbs up through the trapdoor he sees a collection of paintbrushes and paints and dyes, as well as two empty flowerpots.

"I know you want to learn how to make an endermite," NPG says behind him, sounding nervous, "But I thought we could paint flowerpots first."

"I'm down," Ex answers, and the trapdoor slams shut behind him, "Got any white paint? I want to paint skulls on mine."

NPG laughs, and Ex grins at him.

"I do have white paint, yes. What brushes would you like?"

He hovers over to the pile on the floor and sinks down until he's just barely hovering without touching the ground, folds his legs, and starts sorting through brushes.

Ex settles across from him, taking one of the flowerpots in both hands and staring at it for a long moment.

"Change of plans," Ex says eventually, "I'm painting The End instead. Do you have a really thick brush?"

NPG nudges his arm with a rather large one.

"Thanks."

Paints are next, and NPG helps him pour little bits onto paper plates, so they don't ruin the carpet, and after a while of arguing about whether the paint was yellow or turquoise, Ex takes of his helmet.

"I forgot this stupid thing warps colors," He mumbles, hair spilling over his shoulders and into his eyes. He looks into the helmet, fishing around until he comes up with a red hairtie, then sets it aside and pulls his hair back into a low ponytail.

NPG is staring.

"What?" Ex asks, brushing his bangs out of his eyes.

"You are very pretty."

Ex blinks at him, face heating.

Then, softly, "Thanks."

NPG smiles a soft smile and goes back to sorting paints.

Soon they have their pallets chosen and their brushes all set out, and after NPG rolls up his sleeves, they get to work.

Neither say anything for a long time, as is usual for their meetings. During the first few it was awkward, but now it's just pleasant, giving both time to adjust to having another person around after so much time being alone.

NPG is the first to speak.

"How is The End?"

Ex pulls his paintbrush away and holds out the pot to look at it.

"Shoulda given the purple more time to dry, it's turning the islands brown."

NPG hums.

Ex looks up, "What did you decide to paint?"

NPG shows off his own pot, painted blue and green for the sky and the ground, a couple of trees, some flowers, a rough looking rustic house in incredible detail and-

"Is that _me?"_

NPG smiles, "Yes! I wanted to paint your hair."

It _is_ him, in his suit, red and tired looking. NPG even added tiny scars on his face, accurate to his _real_ face, and even though there's bits of red in his hair, it's far more detailed than he could ever hope to paint.

Ex gives him a look.

"You really like my hair, don't you?"

"Yes."

That has Ex blushing again, and he goes back to trying to fix the blob of greenish-white paint on his pot.

"Would you mind if I played with it?"

"As long as there's not paint on your hands, yeah."

NPG holds up his hands for...inspection, probably, Ex has him turn them over, then nods when he finds nothing.

NPG floats gracefully over him, and Ex tries to hold as still as he can as NPG carefully loosens his hair.

It comes tumbling over his shoulders again, and he tries very hard not to flinch as NPG gathers it up.

For a while they sit in silence as NPG messes with his hair- it feels like he's braiding it- and Ex keeps trying to fix the green blob on his pot.

Eventually though, he gets it into a shape he likes and sets it down to dry.

"I have finished," says NPC Grian then, and ties off the braid with a bit of tugging.

"Thanks," Ex answers as NPG floats over him again and settles on his spot of carpet.

"My braiding skills are not the best," NPG says gently, "But I did what I could."

Ex reaches back to feel it, pulling it over one shoulder, and it's a little bit uneven, and that makes him smile.

"It looks great, G."

*****  
  


"You folded it wrong."

Ex secures the fold with a piece of tape and holds up his creation, lopsided, purple, with red in all the wrong places. Despite being a piece of paper, it looks like it's in pain, and how he managed that is beyond him.

"Whoops."

NPG looks up at him, an amused look in his eye, half a smile and asks, "Would you like to try again?"

"Yep," He tosses it aside, and it lands as the thirteenth in a pile of twelve failed attempts.

He then reaches for the tape dispenser and pulls off a piece for NPG's next perfect endermite.

NPG puts the last fold in place and holds it out for Ex to secure.

"You will get it eventually," NPG says as Ex tapes it, "I believe in you."

"Thanks."

NPG carefully puts it atop his stack of...maybe fifteen perfect looking paper endermites, then passes Ex a new piece of paper and gets another for himself.

Ex picks up his pencil and starts sketching boxes on the lighter side, (or as NPG called it, the wrong side), and soon has enough to cut out.

NPG hands him scissors, (already done with his boxes and ready to fold), and Ex thanks him softly.

He cuts quickly. You get pretty fast after thirteen failed attempts.

"Alright," He says once he's done, setting the scissors aside and looking to NPG's hands, "Show me again."

NPC Grian reaches over to point out the lightly sketched lines, "Fold along these lines."

"Okay."

NPG pulls his hand away and Ex does just that. When he finishes that part, NPG reaches over again and shows him how to fold the box together.

"Like this?"

He holds up the finished creation, somehow looking worse than the last, and NPG's expression slowly turns baffled the longer he stares at it.

Then he looks up to Ex, and even though he's confused he's smiling when he asks, "How did you manage to do that?"

Ex turns the little thing over in his hands.

"I have no idea."

*****

Four hours later comes X to pick him up, and before he goes, he helps NPG put the endermites off to the side, all piled up in front of one of the many windows.

It's easy to tell which ones are NPG's and which ones are Ex's.

"They look like they're suffering," Ex says, delighting when NPG tries to cover a laugh, "We should burn them. Put them out of their misery, ya know?"

NPG shakes his head, but he's smiling.

For a moment they say nothing as Ex gathers up his hair to shove back into his helmet. Once he's finished he looks to NPG, then to the flowerpots they never finished painting.

"We'll finish those next time?" He asks, nodding to them, and NPG turns to look before nodding back.

"I will save paints for you," NPG smiles, "Safe travels! Say hi to Xisuma for me!"

"Will do, bud," Ex gives a two finger salute and climbs through the trapdoor, "See you tomorrow."

"Goodbye!"

*****

Ex is painting obsidian pillars on the green island with careful strokes and a tiny, tiny brush.

Once he's finished with the last one, he sets it aside to dry and looks up to the pile of endermites from yesterday- there's still a very obvious difference in who made what, even though they made more this morning- when he suddenly remembers something he said the other day and smiles.

"Hey G?"

"Hm?"

"Remember that thing I said, about filling X's closet with endermites?"

He looks to NPG, red over red, and slowly the demon blinks.

Then he lights up, "I do."

Ex's smile widens, "Do you want to help?"

NPG smiles and nods excitedly, and Ex beams.

"Okay," he gestures to the pile of endermites, "First, we'll need a whole bunch more of these little guys."

*****

They're walking down Sahara Street when Ex pops the question.

“Could me ‘n NPG have a sleepover?”

Xisuma gives him an odd look. "Here? You'll have to ask Grian instead of me-”

'No, no," Ex shakes his head, "at the base. We'll stay in my room if you want us to. And we won't touch anything."

X looks at him for a long moment, then, “I don’t see why not. You’re going to invite him today?"

"Yeah."

X nods, "Make sure it's okay with Grian too, and then we can figure out a day."

*****

Three days later, Grian drops NPG off at Xisuma's base before disappearing to do Area 77 related things, and as soon as he's gone, NPG shifts back into his half demon form.

"Hey bud," Ex reaches out to ruffle his hair, "You ready?"

NPG looks up and nods brightly.

"Come on in."

He leads him into the base, pointing out some things as they make their way down to his room.

"Just down this hallway," Ex guides him to the end of it, where there's a door with a sign above it that reads "Evil Xisuma's Room" and under that "Go Away, X."

He opens the door and in they go, to his little personal domain, and NPG's eyes literally light up in the dark, a faint red that shines with wonder at the new place.

Ex stands in the doorway with him for a moment, glad that he actually remembered to clean it for once.

It's a little bit like a starter base, made of dark blocks with a high ceiling and lanterns hanging down, filling the room with a gentle glow that still leaves them mostly in the dark. The main room is large with a bed on the far side and decorative black, red and white banners on the walls. On one side is an archway in the wall leading to an enchanting room, (not that he has anything to enchant), and on the other side another archway leading to a room with a crafting bench, furnace, a collection of chests, as well as a cauldron and a potion stand, mostly for decoration.

"This is your room?" NPG asks, finally floating into the room.

Ex closes the door behind them and moves to stand next to NPG.

"Yeah. I know it isn't as grand as the rest of this place, but it's mine, and it's better than sleeping outside."

NPG turns slowly in place, taking in everything and stops when he faces Ex.

"I must confess," he says softly, "I have never been to a sleepover before."

Ex smiles, "Then I too must confess," he says, "I have also never been to a sleepover."

"So what do we do?" NPG asks, tilting his head.

Ex shrugs.

"Usually sleepovers involve pajamas," comes a new voice, and both turn to the door, where X is poking his head in, helmet tucked under one arm. He smiles at the both of them, "Can I come in?"

Ex shrugs again, and NPG nods, suddenly slipping back into his Grian form.

X walks over to them, "I wanted to welcome you in person," he says to NPG, "I would tell you to come to me if you need anything, but I actually have something to do tonight so I won't be around, I'm afraid."

NPG says nothing.

"Oh!" X fumbles with his helmet and opens his inventory, "I forgot something, hold on."

He searches through his inventory for a moment, and when he closes it, he's left with a small bag of cookies in hand, and even though NPG's eyes have gone back to black voids Ex can see the excitement in them.

"I made these for you," Xisuma holds out the bag and gently places it in NPG's hands.

NPG looks down at the bag with stars in his eyes and murmurs a gentle, "Thank you."

Xisuma smiles then, a gentle, warm smile, and nods, "You are very welcome."

Then his communicator beeps with a message, and he gives a short word of farewell before excusing himself, closing the door behind him.

For a moment, silence.

Then Ex clears his throat, and NPG shifts back into his half demon form, eyes glowing with delight but also literally once again.

"So that was X," He says, "Have you two met?"

NPG nods, "On the day I met you."

"Oh yeah." He'd forgotten about that.

Another silence.

"So..." he rocks back and forth on his feet, "Pajamas?"

NPG nods.

"Mine are just in there," He points to the room with the chests, "I'll go change in there, don't look."

NPG nods and turns around.

"I'll come back in when you're done changing, so just lemme know when you're ready."

NPG nods again.

So Ex goes into the other room and searches through a chest for some pajamas. He ends up with a black tank top and an old gift from Xisuma- soft, red pajama pants with Ex's angry helmet face printed all over them. The tank top goes on first, and he sets his armor aside while he changes.

"I'm done," NPG calls.

Ex finishes changing and snags a hairtie before heading back into the main room.

NPG is still there, floating in place, but now he's wearing pajamas of his own- a much softer (and larger) version of his red sweater, as well as pajama pants with-

"Are those rustic houses?"

NPG turns around, looks down at the houses printed on his pajama pants, and smiles.

"Yes."

Ex chuckles, shaking his head, and pulls his hair back into a low ponytail.

"Did you choose tonight because you knew Xisuma would be out of his base?"

Ex shrugs, hands dropping into his pockets, "Yeah, pretty much."

NPG smiles again. "Brilliant."

Ex smiles back.

"Did you bring the stuff?"

NPG brightens and nods, then looks down to open his inventory.

Because apparently NPG has an inventory.

He comes up with two stacks of purple origami paper, perfect for making a million tiny endermites.

"Perfect," Ex says, reaching up to ruffle NPG's hair, "Let's take all this to X's room."

*****

"Is Xisuma afraid of Endermites?" NPG asks on their way over, floating a few steps behind Ex.

"Well, no, he isn't really afraid of anything."

"Then why go through all the trouble?"

"I wanna startle him a bit, ya know? He isn't afraid of me taking over the server anymore, so I gotta think of some other way to make him jump."

NPG hums thoughtfully.

Once in X's room, they dump the supplies on the floor and make endermite after endermite, folding and taping the little purple bugs until they eventually run out of tape, but by that point they have more than enough.

"We'll shove them under his bed too, startle him a bit there," Ex decides after they pushed in as many as would fit.

NPG pushes a pile under the bed. Ex closes as many as will fit into an already overflowing chest.

Then on the way back to Ex's room, they tuck them away behind pillars, into shadows, wherever they can make them fit.

NPG places the last one on the floor outside Ex's door, and they take a moment to look back at what they've done.

"Think that'll scare him?" Ex asks.

"Yes."

*****

Hours later, well past midnight, they lay together in Ex's massive bed with enough space between them to make it feel like they aren't sharing it.

The light of the lanterns was dimmed but not put out, making it darker than before but still light enough to see.

Xisuma isn't home yet.

Or, well, he might be, and Ex just missed his reaction.

That would suck.

He turns over on the mattress, the blankets shifting under him as he does, and his eyes land on the back of NPG's head.

He watches him for a moment, realizing his horns and wings are gone. Probably makes it easier for him to sleep.

That's a weird thought, actually. NPG sleeping.

”Do you sleep?” Ex wonders aloud, and the blankets shift as NPG turns over to look at him.

He still has his freckles.

”I try to,” he answers, red eyes glowing a little in the dark, “Do you?”

”When I can," Ex says, “But I don’t want to fall asleep yet, I want to hear X's reaction."

Red eyes blink at him in the dark.

”You are not under the blanket,” NPG says softly.

“No,” Ex agrees, “I’m not.”

“Are you cold?”

“Not really."

Glowing eyes turn to the ceiling as NPG turns onto his back, and Ex does the same.

They watch the flickering glow of the lantern's light across the ceiling.

"I've always wanted a lantern," NPG confesses softly.

Ex turns to look at him, catching the gentle smile in the demon's eyes.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah," NPG continues, "Grian decorated his tower with them. I thought of taking one, but he might not like that."

Silence.

"How does Grian treat you?" Ex asks, "I know you're alone a lot."

Glowing eyes close, and after a deep breath they open again, fixated on Ex.

"We do not interact very much," NPG answers, "For years my room was a closet."

"A _closet?"_

"A small, enclosed space with a door and not much else," NPG explains, as if he doesn't know what a closet is, "He let me have my own room when we moved to Hermitville."

"He _let_ you have a room?"

"It was also the first time I asked," NPG's eyes turn back to the ceiling, "I suppose I just needed to ask."

Ex stares at the demon for a long moment.

Then he turns to look back at the lights dancing on the ceiling, and asks softly, "Why a lantern?"

"It is a light source without an open flame," NPG answers, "Not a fire hazard if I wish to keep it with me in the closet."

"Are you afraid of the dark?"

NPG doesn't answer for a long moment.

Then, softly, "A bit."

"We can turn the lights back on," Ex pushes himself onto his elbows, looking down at NPG, "You shoulda said something eariler, I wouldn't have turned 'em down."

"No," NPG reaches out, catching Ex's wrist before he can fully climb off the bed, "This is light enough."

"You're sure?"

NPG nods, glowing eyes never leaving Ex's.

"Alright."

He expects NPG to let go of his wrist, but he doesn't, not until he's laying down again.

For a while, they stare together at the ceiling.

"Would you like to hear a story?"

Ex glances at the demon again. No glowing red, his eyes must be closed.

"Sure."

*****

Someone is screaming.

When Ex fully wakes up, it takes him a few moments of blinking to remember the events of yesterday, but once he realizes the screaming is probably X, he smiles.

If he can hear X's screams from halfway across the base, that means it worked perfectly.

He looks to the demon clinging to him. NPG must have moved sometime after they fell asleep, he's got his arms wrapped around Ex and his face buried in the crook of his arm. Had it been anyone else, Ex probably would have shoved them off immediately.

"NPG," He says softly, nudging the demon, "Wake up. It worked."

NPG makes a tired noise, but slowly blinks awake.

His eyes are glowing faintly in the dark when they meet Ex's, and that tired glare is a question Ex understands perfectly.

”It worked,” Ex says again, beaming, “We scared X.”

Then NPG’s face lights up and he sits up, looking down at Ex with a big smile.

”Good job us!”

Ex laughs, pushing himself up, “Yeah! We did awesome!”

”We did awesome!” NPG cheers, and they laugh together until X comes into the room.

”I suppose you think that’s funny,” X scolds, not even wearing his helmet so they get the full effect of his glare.

”It was pretty funny,” Ex grins, nudging NPG with his elbow, “Right, G?”

”Right!”

Xisuma glares at the two of them, but he can’t hold back a quiet chuckle as the two dissolve into laughter yet again.

  
*****

After a good scolding and cleaning up all the endermites, Xisuma made them breakfast.

They got dressed after that, and NPG shifted back into his Grian form. Three hours after waking, Grian shows up to take NPG home, and soon it’s time to say goodbye.

"Are we going to do this again?" NPG asks.

"I dunno if X will let us do it here after last night, so we might have to convince Grian."

NPG smiles, "Leave it to me!"

Ex smiles back and ruffles his hair.

Then it's time to go. Grian takes off with his Elytra, and NPG waves before following after him. 

Ex waves until both Grians are out of sight.

"Hey X?”

“Hm?”

“How would I go about getting a lantern?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ah, pranks. good thing there was no tnt involved
> 
> [tumblr](https://just-a-simple-pigeon.tumblr.com/)


	3. Pirate Treasure Hunt

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "I don't wanna just... _give_ him a lantern, though," Ex says, pacing back and forth across Xisuma's room, "I wanna _do_ something. Make it special and not just, 'hey G, here's a lantern'."  
> X only nods, long and slow yet again. His eyes drift shut as he lays back on his pillows, "Well, what about a treasure hunt?"  
> "But for now," X says, rolling over, "Go away, I'm trying to sleep."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *pretends to remember what the season 6 nether hub looks like* *pretends minecraft maps show a whole lot more than they actually do* *pretends i didn't just write this entire chapter in two days after forgetting this fic existed for months*
> 
> (season 7 happened and i didn't know how to write this chapter i'm sorry here it is thanks for being patient u guys are the best :'))

"I don't wanna just... _give_ him a lantern, though," Ex says, pacing back and forth across Xisuma's room, "I wanna _do_ something. Make it special and not just, 'hey G, here's a lantern'."

He looks to X, who is laying on his bed, helmet off. He kind of looks half dead and not completely invested in the conversation.

"Alright," X blinks, long and slow, "What exactly do you mean by that?"

Ex puts his hands on his hips and huffs, frustrated, "I have _no idea."_

X only nods, long and slow yet again. His eyes drift shut as he lays back on his pillows, "Well, what about a treasure hunt?"

That catches Ex's attention.

"Haven't all of them been raided by the hermits?"

Xisuma pulls a face, eyes still closed, and waves a hand, "Sure, sure. Doesn't mean we can't set one up."

"We?"

"Yeah," Xisuma sounds like he's right on the verge of falling asleep, "Me 'n you an' maybe Scar, we can use his island."

That's brilliant. Ex doesn't know why he didn't think of it himself.

"But for now," X says, rolling over, "Go away, I'm trying to sleep."

*****

X works on the treasure hunt for at least a week.

Ex isn't allowed to know anything about it. But, through a bit of eavesdropping and "accidentally" walking in on a few conversations, Ex knows it's going to happen somewhere on or near Scar's island, as well as partially in the shopping district.

It takes a few days to get a hold of Grian, and when they finally do, he agrees to the adventure, so long as Ex keeps a close eye on NPG.

And NPG himself is left in the dark about the whole thing.

Though as Ex sits on the floor of the sunshine room, watching his pot dry by one of the windows, NPG notices that something is definitely up.

"Is something the matter?"

Ex looks to the demon sprawled out on the floor, painting little rainbow flowers on his own flowerpot, and smiles.

"Nope."

"Are you sure?" NPG asks, eyes glimmering, "You zoned out."

Ex reaches out to ruffle his hair, wary of little horns, "I'm good, buddy. No need to worry."

*****

Soon enough, it's time, and for once in his life, Ex can't sleep.

"Grian said it was fine, remember?" Xisuma assures as Ex is getting ready, "You just have to keep an eye on him."

Ex secures the borrowed Elytra over his shoulders, "Right."

Xisuma holds out matching shulker box lunchboxes, "I packed you two some lunches in case you get hungry."

Ex takes them, "Thanks."

"You know your way to the shopping district?"

"Yeah."

"And you know where I put the map?"

"Roughly."

Then X smiles at him and pats his shoulder, "It's going to be great. You two will have a great time."

Ex smiles, "Thanks."

*****

NPG is waiting for him when he flies it to Hermitville, and even from the sky he can see him bouncing in place.

"NPG!" Ex shouts. When their eyes meet, the demon shifts into his half-demon form, wings larger than normal, and takes off to fly after Ex.

"Hi!" NPG calls, now flying off on one side, "You can fly!"

"I can!" Ex confirms, nearly falling out of the air before deploying another rocket, "X said I could have wings for the fly through the Nether!"

"We're going to the Nether?"

"Yeah!" -Ex _really_ needs to put more focus into flying- "X made us a treasure hunt, if you're up for it."

He spares a glance at NPG. His eyes are excited.

"I'd love to!"

"Great! Follow me to the portal!"

*****

Apparently it's incredibly easy to get lost in the Nether hub.

Ex hates it here. The air is hard to breathe and the visor in his helmet isn't great when the haze is so thick, and really there's just _too much lava_ for this to be enjoyable.

And NPG-

Well. Ex doesn't really know what happened to NPG.

He can only half see it, but he thinks NPG reverted back to his original form.

And, apparently his original form is _huge._

NPG looms over Ex as he tries to navigate through the Nether Hub. He can't really see anything. The tunnel seems endless. Where are they? Where did they come from? Where are they going? Ex wishes they were back in the sunshine room, making paper bugs.

Eventually, they meet an intersection. This is where Ex gives up.

He also looks up. At NPC Grian. Who is huge and terrifying instead of tiny.

Black and red eyes blink down at him, long and slow. How can something so cute in the overworld be so terrifying down here?

"Do you know how to get to the shopping district?"

NPG dips his head in a nod and takes the lead, moving confidenty.

When Ex asks him to stop, he does. His horns could drag on the ceiling if he lifts his head just a little more.

Eventually, NPG leaps down through a massive hole in the floor, and Ex looks down after him.

It's brighter than he was expecting. Not bright like lava though, which is very welcome.

He looks to NPG, who is holding out his arms to Ex.

"What is it, bud?" Ex calls.

_"Jump down,"_ NPG answers, his voice hissing, like several people are talking at once, _"I'll catch you."_

Had NPG been in his tiny Grian form, Ex would have probably said no, out of fear of potentially hurting one of them.

But this isn't tiny little NPC Grian, so he leaps into the hole and lets the demon catch him.

It's an odd feeling, having two giant hands cradle you gently before setting you on your feet.

He looks up into those red and black eyes again.

"Thank you."

NPG dips his head into another nod.

Together they find the right portal. NPG barely manages to fit through.

On the other side is the shopping district.

NPG is in his half-Grian-half-demon form yet again, and floats out of the portal to hover by Ex.

"Alright," Ex grins at him and removes his Elytra, "Let's find ourselves a treasure map."

*****

The map turns out to be tacked to the side of Grian's wandering salesman cart.

"Kind of out of the way," Ex comments as he takes it down, "but alright."

NPG hovers close, almost enough to touch him.

"The X is up here," Ex says, pointing out a big, red 'x' on the map, in the upper part of Scar's island, "But there's also this little circle down here."

He points to a little blue circle on the east shore of the main island, then looks up to NPG for his input, "Where do you wanna go first?"

NPG looks at the map for a long moment, red eyes scanning over the page again and again.

Then, eventually, "Circle first."

Ex nods, "Sounds good, buddy. Wanna lead the way?"

*****

The map leads them to the circle. The circle turns out to be a boat.

"Alright," Ex makes his way over to it so he can shove it into the water, "Map says we have to sail, right? I'll steer, you hop in."

"The ocean?"

NPG's voice is a little strange, and when Ex looks up, he's wary, not excited like he'd been expecting.

"What's wrong?"

NPG's eyes don't leave the water crashing on the shore, and Ex wonders if he's actually trembling or if it only looks like he is while he hovers above the sand.

"Salt water," NPG answers.

Ah. Right.

Demon.

For a moment, only silence, and the waves on the shore.

"I think it will be fine, so long as I don't touch it," NPG says eventually. He floats over to Ex with a small smile.

"You sure?" Ex asks, and NPG nods.

So with a little more effort, they push the boat into the water and start off.

They sail for a while, following the map to the best of their ability, past Grian's giant blender of a base.

The ocean is vast, and probably cold, and NPG simply hovers over the boat while Ex sails on.

Clouds drift by above them, and NPG's eyes flicker excitedly at anything and everything- a bit like when they were wandering the shopping district, how NPG wanted to pull him into every shop just so he could look around, but this time he's stuck in the boat and simply points at everything- all the fish and plants and waves on the surface of the water-

Ex stops to check the map again, wondering why they haven't seen the volcano yet, when NPG suddenly gasps, finally putting a little weight on the boat to ground himself, shaking Ex's arm.

When Ex looks up, Dolphins leap out of the water, and in the distance is a dark shape that looks somewhat like a volcano.

NPG looks back at him with excited red eyes, and Ex smiles.

"Pretty cool, huh?"

NPG looks back to the water.

"Yeah!"

*****

When they make it to the island, Ex jumps out to drag the boat further onto the shore, and NPG floats out after him, hovering above the sand and turning in place to scope out the area. Soon the boat is far enough away from the water to not be dragged out again, so Ex leaves it.

NPG reaches out to grip his arm, and when Ex turns, his eyes land on a person a ways away on the beach.

"Well well well," says a familiar voice, a little rough with sleep like he just woke up, followed by a gentle meow, "Took you long enough."

Ex takes a step forward and NPG ducks behind him, head peeking over his shoulder.

Sitting under a palm tree is a pirate-cowboy with a cat in his lap. He tilts his hat back and green eyes meet Ex's red, "I was starting to think you boys drowned or somethin'."

"Hey Badtime," Ex lifts his free hand to wave as the pirate pushes himself to his feet. NPG presses closer.

Batime hobbles over with the cat draped across his shoulders.

"Good to see you again, Ex," Badtime slaps a hand on Ex's shoulder and looks to NPG, "Who's this?"

"This is NPC Grian," Ex answers, gesturing to the demon, who drifts out from behind him, "NPG for short. G, this is BadTimesWithScar."

"Call me Badtime," the pirate gives a tired smile and extends his hand, "Pleasure to meet you."

But NPG isn't looking at him, instead at the cat on his shoulders, red eyes shining.

"I-is that a cat?" NPG whispers, reaching out to touch her.

Badtime chuckles, tilting his shoulders so NPG can reach her easier, "This is Jellie."

NPG looks like he's about to melt where he hovers as he scratches between her ears and then under her chin. Jellie purrs, and NPG slowly touches down on the sand. It's the first time Ex has ever seen him stand.

NPG looks up to Badtime with big eyes, "Can I hold her?"

"If she lets you, sure."

Ex finds himself smiling as NPG's eyes go wide, and after a bit of shifting around, Badtime gently places Jellie in NPG's arms.

He’s surprisingly gentle with her, letting her adjust until she’s comfortable, eyes wide and shining as he stares down at her like he’s been blessed by the Minecraft Gods.

Ex's smile grows when NPG looks to him with tears in his eyes, face the very image of disbelief and wonder.

“Best day ever?” Ex asks with teasing smile as he pushes his hands into his pockets.

NPG holds her close, sounding like he’s trying very hard not to cry, “Yeah.”

“We haven’t even gotten the treasure yet, bud,” Ex teases, “Remember that part?”

NPG shakes his head, “This--this is the treasure.”

Badtime laughs brightly.

“Well if you feel that way, then I suppose me and Ex ought to get to digging."

He slaps a hand on Ex’s shoulder again, “C’mon, I’ve got some shovels over here, let’s get to finding that treasure."

*****

Together they follow the map around the volcano, crossing rope bridges and carrying old wooden shovels over their shoulders while NPG floats behind with Jellie in his arms.

Ex is hot and tired and happy, ready for a nap but also excited about what's going to happen next, when they find the chest.

"I'd say it's around here, probably," Badtime slides down a slope and lands in a clearing surrounded by palm trees and more of the volcano, "What do you boys think?"

Ex looks over his shoulder to check the map.

"Looks like it," he answers, "G?"

NPG looks at the map for a long moment, then up to the clearing, and lets Jellie adjust in his arms again.

"There's and 'x' in the sand over there," NPG nods to a place further in the clearing, and then off he floats.

Ex and Badtime follow after him.

It’s true, there’s an ‘x’ in the sand. It looks hastily man-made, but NPG doesn’t seem to notice or care.

“Alright,” Badtime makes his way over and brandishes his shovel, “We all clear to dig, cap’n?”

NPG looks a delighted about being called "captain" and nods, “All clear.”

Badtime shoves his shovel into the sand and gets to work. Ex joins him. NPG hovers above them, calling encouragement and letting Jellie climb onto his shoulders.

Then, Badtime’s shovel hits something more solid than sand with a solid _thump._

“Hey, there it is,” Ex says, using his own shovel to poke at it, “I thought we were going to have to dig forever.”

They unbury the chest, revealing more dark wood with every bit of sand removed, and Ex glances up as they uncover it more and more. NPG is excited and practically bursting-

Then Badtime reaches down and hauls the chest out of the sand, spilling sand off the top and back into the hole. NPG reaches down to help-

“Woah!” Badtime laughs when NPG picks up the chest as if it’s as light as Jellie, “You’re stronger than you look!”

NPG places the chest in the sand and nods, “I am.”

Ex laughs and sticks his shovel in the sand. Leaning against it, he looks to NPG, “You gonna open it?”

NPG looks a bit nervous, “Can I?”

Ex nods, “Of course, bud.”

Jellie climbs off NPG’s shoulders with a tired meow, and NPG carefully passes her to Badtime before leaning over to open the chest.

Ex leans in to look over his shoulder.

It really isn’t much. Six pieces of wood. A single piece of coal. Eight iron nuggets.

NPG’s head whips back around, startled, excited- he understands immediately what the items are for.

Ex just grins, “You ready to make yourself a lantern?”

*****

“Welp,” Ex looks down at their lopsided attempt at a lantern, “Not bad for two people who don’t craft often, huh?”

It’s nowhere close to perfect- the doors could probably come off at any second, the loop is a strange size compared to the rest of it, and the glass is a bit messy.

But NPG just looks at him, a huge smile on his face, and says, “We should sign it!”

“Sign it?”

NPG nods, reaching out to flip the lantern over.

He takes one of the smaller tools from the crafting bench and carefully, (albeit a little messily), scratches out “NPC Grian” in big, jagged letters.

When he’s finished, he passes the lantern and the tool to Ex.

“You sure you want me to sign this?” Ex asks.

NPG looks at him like he’s crazy, “Of course.”

So Ex takes the little tool and scratches out a little “EX” in one of the corners. Much smaller than NPG, but still there.

NPG beams at him again, and takes the lantern back.

“Badtime!” He calls then, turning to the pirate, (who has been lounging under a nearby tree since they unburied the chest), “Do you want to sign it too?”

Badtime waves the question away with one hand, “Naw. You boys made it, I just unburied a chest. I don’t want to take credit for work I didn’t do.”

NPG seems a little sad about that, but not completely heartbroken as he nods.

Then he looks back to Ex, eyes turning curious and hopeful again, “What’s next?”

“How about lunch?”

"I don't eat food."

“Badtime will eat yours then,” Ex says, “You alright with that?”

NPG nods.

“Then let’s go sit. We’ll head home after.”

*****

NPG sits in the boat on the way back to the shopping district, curled in on himself with the lantern held close.

The sky is turning dark. Ex doesn’t really want to row in the dark, much less all night. He stops rowing. The boat comes to a stop. NPG looks up. His eyes are starting to glow in the dark again. Ex wonders if all demons eyes do that, or if this is something unique to NPG.

“You wanna try lighting it?” Ex asks.

“Can we?” NPG asks softly.

“Of course,” Ex gestures for him to come close, “Sit up here and open one of the doors on it.”

NPG climbs into his seat as Ex finds a torch and lights it.

The golden glow falls around the boat and lights up some of the water around them. NPG’s eyes change, still red, but with flecks of gold, like liquid fire.

Liquid fire as in lava. They kind of look like little pools of glowing lava. It’s pretty cool.

Ex puts the torch inside the lantern, somewhat amused at NPG’s awed expression as he closes the door and latches it.

“There you go.”

He sits back again and takes up the oars. NPG just looks at the lantern, eyes twinkling like the stars above them.

They’re almost to the shopping district when NPG looks up.

“We made this,” he whispers.

Ex smiles and nods, “We did.”

“And it works.”

“It does.”

“It’s beautiful.”

“It is.”

NPG looks like he’s going to cry again.

“Thank you,” NPG says.

Ex smiles again, “You’re welcome, bud.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> what if in the new update u could put colored candles in the lanterns and it would change the light's colors....that would be cool.......
> 
> (also might edit the last section later so look out for that)
> 
> [tumblr](https://just-a-simple-pigeon.tumblr.com/)


End file.
